Is it possible to still be a Democrat and disagree with the Obama Administration?

[NightWatcher]

Be it on war, health care reform, financial reform, the environment, drug policy or ANYTHING, is it possible to have a disagreement on the issues with the Obama Administration and yet still be a Democrat?

I am not trying to start a flame-fest, but I want to know if criticism is still allowed.

Or have we entered into "if you are not with us, you're against us" territory?

I am not trying to push poll anyone, but trying to determine if there is a Democratic Party purity test.


(on a side note, I am not an Obama hater. I spent more than 8 months working for Obama's Campaign For Change office in Georgia. I spent considerable time, money, and effort seeing him get elected. So please do not tell me that I'm a troll or freeper, or whatever. I am a Progressive with a heavy sense of social justice and equality)

[sneezepaddle]

1. Why disagree with him when he is logical and right?

He is a smart man and I like having him in charge. He is thoughtful and caring...so different than W.

[LWolf]

6. Because he's not correct. It's true that he's right, but then

I don't agree with the right. He needs to leap a couple of miles to the left to be close to correct on any issue.

[tekisui]

10. I don't disagree with him when he is correct.

He isn't always correct, far from it in fact.

[FLAprogressive]

this post is not sarcasm???

[Sebastian Doyle]

44. I'm pretty sure that post is

DonCaballero/timeforpeace/mkultra/some other troll using the same tired gimmick.

[emilyg]

2. Yes.

[Aramchek]

3. awwww, somebody's pouting

[NightWatcher]

8. oh gosh no, just testing the waters for some type of Party purity test

glad to see what I do, so far

[treestar]

4. Of course

Why not?

But if one disagrees with everything it starts to look a bit strange.

I'd have a hard time staying a Democrat if I disagreed with everything, or 90% of what he did.

[havocmom]

5. Depends

on who you ask.

I worked to elect him. I have spent my life since age 9 working for equal civil rights. But I get called all kinds of nasty names for voicing the very dissent Obama recognized as productive.

So, while I think a Democrat not only can, but SHOULD voice disagreement when a policy or agenda is not the best, there seems to be a crowd who think it's so essential to enforce lockstep that they carry out group attacks to intimidate those who don't go along to STFU

I guess a part of the party had decided GOP methods are the way to go. I will remain a Democrat despite their efforts. And I will raise my voice often. I take it seriously.

edited for typo

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

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[countingbluecars]

9. Not today. n/t

[BlooInBloo]

11. But obviously anyone disagreeing with Kucinich is a spineless corporatist sellout non-progressive.

Funny how these things only work in one direction.

[Donnachaidh]

19. and those who stand up for a true voice of dissent are called teabaggers

Still smarting over others disagreeing with the talking points promulgated against Dennis?

[Fumesucker]

42. That changed the other day.. Do try to keep up. n/t

[pampango]

12. As with most organizations, if you disagree with a few policies that creates a healthy debate.

If one disagrees with most or all, not necessarily you, of an organization's policies, perhaps a more question is "Why am I here?" (rather than "Should I be kicked out?") whether you changed (we all do over time) or the organization did (they all do, too).

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[walldude]

14. Well let's see shall we:

PAtriot Act- Bush does it it's bad, Obama does it it's good.

Iraq War- Bush starts it it's bad Obama continues it it's Good

Afghanistan- Bush=Bad Obama=Good

Torture- Bush= Bad Obama=Good

Warrentless wiretaps- Bush=Bad Obama=Good

Guantanamo- Bush=Bad Obama=Good

Yeah, I'm a bad "Democrat" for not buying into this bullshit. Fact is there is no Democratic party anymore. The only Democrats left are the people of this country and the odd politician who has managed to keep his soul in tact. We are a nation of hens being led by foxes.

[amborin]

46. there's a 'cult of the personality' dynamic at work; it's scary;

all reasoned analysis flew out the window

Obama, the person, is the arbiter of reality for many

[stray cat]

16. Does the same apply to members of the DLC or are DUers the only ones who get a pass?

[The Magistrate]

17. Not Today, Sir....

Tomorrow, perhaps, but not today.

[puebloknot]

32. As a "Magistrate," you might find "Defying Hitler" highly instructive and relevant ...

... to the question at hand in this thread.

Our own DU member, Bernard Weiner, discusses the book, written by Sebastian Haffner, and published after his death by his son.

http://www.crisispapers.org/Editorials/germany-1933.htm

One such book is "Defying Hitler," by the noted German journalist/author Sebastian Haffner. The manuscript was found, stuffed away in a drawer, by Haffner's son in 1999 after his father's death at age 91. Published in 2000, the book became an immediate best-seller in Germany and was published last year in English, translated by the son, Oliver Pretzel. (His father's original name was Raimund Pretzel; as Sebastian Haffner, he went on to a highly successful career, writing in England during the war and then later back in Germany. He authored "From Bismarck to Hitler" and "The Meaning of Hitler," among many other works.)

"Defying Hitler" is a brilliantly written social document, begun (and ended abruptly) in 1939; even though it fills in the reader on German history from the First World War on, its major focus is on the year 1933, when, as Hitler assumed power, Haffner was a 25-year-old law student, in-training to join the German courts as a junior administrator.

If not now, when?

[The Magistrate]

33. Hardly Relevant, Sir, Unless You Consider President Obama Equivalent To Hitler....

[puebloknot]

39. This isn't about Obama in isolation. It's about the mindset and actions ...

... of We, the People, including We, the Dems!

And, Yeroner, I am decidedly not a "sir." But don't call me "Ma'am," either, because it's creepy! I am a female, with no confusion in my own mind about that. Nor has anyone who has come in contact with me ever had any doubts, either.

[The Magistrate]

47. Then, Ma'am, Godwin's Is Invoked, And You Are Not Worth The Slightest Converse In Future

My patience with this sort of swill is absolutely and utterly exhausted.

[puebloknot]

48. Swill? You don't do dialogue very well, do you? And you, Sir ...

... are no gentleman.

Yes, I agree. We should not take up any more space at DU with the utter futility of an equal exchange of ideas!

Reign on!

[Orangepeel]

18. disagree, of course. "primary his ass!" maybe. "I'm changing my registration!" no.

If disagreement wasn't allowed in the party, things would be a lot easier. We also wouldn't be the Democratic party.

:shrug:

Now, if being allowed to disagree means that you expect no one to call you names for disagreeing, you are probably out of luck.

[onenote]

20. yes. and its also possible to be a Democrat and agree with the administration

Do you agree?

[Edweird]

29. Newt Gingrich sure does.

http://healthca.newamerica.net/blogposts/2008/reform_newt_gingrich_on_free_riders_and_the_individual_mandate-18127

[Puglover]

21. Yes

And anyone who would say differently isn't a Democrat.

[Puglover]

22. dupe

[EFerrari]

23. Maybe for today, be a member of DU.

Lots of tension right now. Maybe not a great time to make big decisions or to try to rationalize your every position.

:hi:

[Dinger]

24. Yes It Is (nt)

[Dinger]

25. Yes It Is (nt)

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

26. In a democracy, it's the responsibility of the people to hold their public servants accountable.

Even presidents with a (D) behind their names.

[City Lights]

27. Yes. nt

[leeroysphitz]

30. Nein! n/t

[pretzel4gore]

31. "confess, repent, obey!" our new pledge of allegience...

Remember people, we're living in a nation that, by hook and by crook, via constant scheming, has FINALLY conceded the victory in WW2 to the reactionary right (aka the nazipoohs)...president bush's daddy Prescott was, as yall know, Mr Hitler's finacial whiz (it was grandpa bush who saved Shicklegruber's 'nazi' party in the late 20's early 30's with vast sums of tax money- though this misdeed was overshadowed by the later coup attempt by the reactionaries to get rid of FD Roosevelt, a crime that got them busted when Gen Smedley Butler proved not to be a traitor and called the friggin cops...lol!)
Might as well call USA the CSA too while we're at it, and move the WHouse to Richmond. And get ridda that silly pointless Lincoln Memorial!
Lincoln/USSR was/were the bad guy(s) and the nazis were the good guys, it turns out! Who knew! Next they'll be saying the 'USeh' really landed on the moon!
(not only is the earth flat, but the moon's flat too! so howen hell does a rocket LAND on it?)

[inna]

34. recommend

[UTUSN]

35. Why not (for YOU)?!1 I've disagreed with my Dems JFK and McGOVERN, so???!1 n/t

[WillyT]

36. Of Course It's Possible... It's Practically The Only Thing That Makes Being A Democrat Worthwhile

We're not Goose-Stepping Nazis after all.

:evilgrin:

[Canuckistanian]

37. No. This ain't no pony factory

You suck it up for the team. You already had something to say in the primaries leading to the last General election.

You lost. They won. Sucks to be you.

(note: the preceding message courtesy of the DLC. "Making Progressives Pay Since 1985")

[bigwillq]

38. Yes, I often do (nt)

[joe black]

40. Thanks Obama

I didn't leave the party, it left me. Thanks Obama for that last nail.

[flvegan]

41. Possible? It's damn near mandatory.

[Political Heretic]

43. According to Skinner: yes.

[KonaKane]

45. Absolutely. I'm against our continued presence in Afghanistan

especially with late breaking news of classified docs showing that the Taliban government actually tried to REIN IN AlQaeda and keep them from committing terror acts against the USA (what a huge mistake it was to attack Afghanistan).

BUT....

I still consider myself a supporter of the Obama administration. Given the wider view, better him than any of the other choices we had.